Ragtime and Titanic are among my favorite scores of the 90s, but I have to agree with Dawn - I think the score to Titanic just barely edges out over Ragtime. Both are absolute masterpieces, though.

Could it be a personal preference that differentiates the two for you? Neither is an absolute masterpiece, completely perfect in every way; both have their flaws, different kinds of flaws, to be sure, but they're there all the same. As such, I'm not yet convinced that either edges out the other in the final analysis when it comes to the scores alone, but - if it were on the table - I'd happily agree that both of them have scores that are better than that of Parade.

Eh, it might be personal preference. But as far as the respective composers go, it's a masterwork for them. I mean, Ragtime has no serious competition for the title of Ahrens and Flaherty's best musical, and Titanic edges out all of Yeston's musicals, good as they may be.

But as far as the respective composers go, it's a masterwork for them. I mean, Ragtime has no serious competition for the title of Ahrens and Flaherty's best musical, and Titanic edges out all of Yeston's musicals, good as they may be.

Yes, I'd agree that both shows represent the best work of each respective creative team.

Is it just me, or do a lot of musicals from the 90s seem to converge at a certain point in history? The Pre-WWI period does seem to get rather overexposed!

Titanic, Ragtime, and Parade all have overlapping timelines, more or less; I remember in the book Ragtime is based on mentions the lynching of Leo Frank in the final chapters, and Parade has that lyric in 'Big News'- 'Look, the Titanic went down/but I'm stuck in this town...' The fact that Assassins spends a great amount of time on the assassination of McKinley only adds to this, obligatory Emma Goldman cameo and all.

No, I've always thought that, CDG! Of my "big six" favorites from the 90s, FIVE of them take place in the early 20th century (partially, anyway). Titanic, Ragtime, Parade, and Floyd Collins have overlapping timelines (especially the examples you put in your post--it's uncanny!), albeit Floyd's a bit later. And, as you said, Assassins has moments in that time period as well. My only favorite from the 90s that doesn't take place during this time period is Passion!

I think that this is a natural thing. Something about a particular show really appears to resonate with an audience and then a run of shows that are set in similar time periods appears. In the 1940s, there was a yen for "historic" Americana-styled musicals, like Oklahoma!, Carousel, Annie Get Your Gun, Bloomer Girl and so on. From the end of the 1970s into the 1980s, there began a run of musicals set in 19th Century Europe with their roots in operetta, like Sweeney Todd, Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. In the 1990s, things converged around this turn of the century setting.